Treatment-emergent mania in pediatric bipolar disorder: a retrospective case review.

BACKGROUND

Pediatric bipolar disorder (BPD) can be misdiagnosed as a depressive, attention, conduct, or anxiety disorder and treatment with antidepressants and stimulants is common. Risk of adverse outcomes related to such treatment remains poorly defined.

METHODS

We analyzed clinical records of 82 children (mean age 10.6 years) meeting modified DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for BPD to evaluate risk and timing of operationally-defined treatment-emergent mania (TEM) or increased mood-cycling following pharmacological treatment.

RESULTS

Of 82 juvenile BPD patients, 57 (69%) had been given a mood-elevating agent at least once; 33/57 (58%) so-exposed met criteria for TEM, with median latency of 14 days; TEM was observed twice as often with antidepressants as stimulants (44% vs. 18%). TEM led to first-recognition of BPD in 14 cases (17%), and some drug-exposed children (4-9%) had prominent suicidal, homicidal or psychotic behavior. In addition to recent exposure to a mood-elevating agent, TEM was associated with early-onset anxiety and female gender.

LIMITATIONS: Findings are retrospective in clinically diagnosed and treated outpatients, but involved otherwise unselected cases of juvenile BPD.

CONCLUSIONS

TEM was reported in 58% of children with probable juvenile BPD within several weeks of new exposure to a mood-elevating agent.